Rail cargo transport to drop by 10%

It is predicted that the amount of goods which will be transport by rail cargo companies in Poland will drop by over 10% in 2009, year on year, Logistics Finland reported. The decrease of rail cargo activities began during the second half of 2008. During the first nine months of the year, rail cargo sales fell by some 5% when compared to the same time of 2007, which forced the companies to think twice about their investment expenditure. The national Polish rail freight firm PKP Cargo has been affected by the crisis more than private operators. While its share in the market has been decreasing, the share of private rail companies has been growing but slower than before. In this situation, PKP Cargo will have to cut its budget for the purchase of new rolling stock, which was supposed to reach PLN 800mn (EUR 185.44mn USD 241.15mn) in 2009. Meantime, the private operator PCC plans only to invest in 100 new container platforms, which will be built in its own plants. Also, CTL Logistics is preparing a new investment plan, which is supposed to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2009. Before, the company planned to spend PLN 300mn on new projects on an annual basis.

Source: Transportweekly